Backsliding On National Security: The Immigration Connection

Question: Although the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has recently announced a long list of accomplishments in improving National Security that may give the public an impression that safety and/or security is in good hands, has it adopted a number of measures that represent a significant backsliding on National Security?

The following report reveals the eye-opening answer to this question-You Decide:

Backsliding On National Security-The Immigration Connection–A Report Compiled By Jack Martin, Director of Special Projects On September 2009:

In a public relations campaign that evokes the image of Orwellian “newspeak,” the Department of Homeland Security has announced a long list of accomplishments in improving national security while at the same time it has adopted a number of measures that represent a significant backsliding on national security. If only the rhetoric is heard, the public may think its safety is in good hands. If, however, recent actions concerning the illegal alien population and the flow of foreign nationals into and out of the country are examined, a very different picture emerges.

The areas in which rhetoric and action widely diverge include:

A willingness to abandon progress on implementation of a secure identification system based on state-issued driver’s licenses using national standards for verification of “breeder” documents and electronic exchange of information among the states and the federal government.

Restriction of federal-local cooperation in the apprehension of foreigners illegally in the country.

Abandonment of a system to discourage further illegal immigration based on curtailing job opportunities for those in the country illegally.

Pursuit of an amnesty for foreigners illegally in the country which will work at cross-purpose to efforts to gain greater border control by deterring illegal immigration.

While talking toughness on national security, the Obama Administration appears to give a higher priority to its relationship with narrow political interest groups that it courted in the last election than to reducing the nation’s exposure to the threat of international terrorism. And, while President Obama’s efforts to assure foreigners around the globe that Americans are their friends is commendable,it is no substitute for enhanced homeland security.

If the Obama Administration were seriously interested in advancing national security, it would:

Reverse course and welcome the assistance of local jurisdictions that aggressively identify illegal aliens for deportation.

Push for the E-Verify system to be adopted as a national requirement for all employers and all workers. In the meantime, implementation of the “no-match” letter screening system would represent a significant deterrent to the mass illegal immigration that Withdraw support for an amnesty for illegal aliens and, thereby, convey the message abroad that the United States is serious about enforcing its immigration laws.

Rapidly pursue implementation of a comprehensive electronic database that matches entry and departure of foreign visitors, and expand the special tracking database for students to include all long-term visitors.

Reverse the recent expansion of the Visa Waiver Program that allows the entry of nationals of 35 countries to enter without consular screening and gradually eliminate it.

Tighten the criteria for admission of nationals of organizations of countries with active terrorist in the refugee and asylum programs.

I NT R O D U CT I O N:

The fact that there has been no repeat of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on American soil has apparently encouraged the current administration to think that the security measures that have been implemented since then can be relaxed. While many of the security lapses that allowed Al-Qaeda terrorists to take nearly 3,000 lives have been corrected—visa screening, for example—many of the needed reforms are still in the process of being implemented eight years later, and several of these reforms are now being undermined.

Of course, policymakers do not admit to trimming back on national security because they know that we are still living under the threat of attack by Al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups and that there are still major gaps in our security that continue to leave us vulnerable.

Security against international terrorism requires:

effective intelligence collection overseas to identify plotters and their movements;

effective screening of authorized travelers to the United States to screen out potential terrorists;

effective control against illegal entry into the country; and

effective counterterrorism operations within the United States to identify anyone who has managed to bypass the earlier controls as well as any U.S. residents who have been recruited into terrorism.

If DHS Secretary Napolitano and the Obama Administration recognize that the nation remains vulnerable to international terrorism, the question iswhy would they willingly relax our security in the face of this threat?The answer is that effective counterterrorism operations impinge on some influential domestic vested interests. Since security can never be absolutely assured, these vested interests insist that policymakers must balance enhanced security with their perception of other national interests and tilt that balance in their direction.”

Note: The following articles and/or blog posts and videos relate to and/or support the above report-You Decide: